HP-UX machine as PXE server for i386 boxes?

[Erik Heckers]

Hello!

We are currently using a HP-UX machine
running Ignite-UX to automatically install
our HP-UX clients and a separate Linux
machine to install some PXE capable clients.

Is it possible to install PXE clients using
our Ignite-UX machine?

As far as I have understood so far you
have to activate bootp and DHCP on the
server, but is there anything else I
have to take care (e.g using additional
software, special DHCP-server, etc)?

Thankx, Erik

[harry d brown jr]

DHCP is necessary, but not enough. Where can you get the PXE software?

live free or die
harry d brown jr

[Jeff Schussele]

Hi Erik,

I think not.
Ignite is able to deliver a PA-RISC or Itanium HP-UX kernel. I rather doubt it can deliver a LINUX kernel.

Rgds,
Jeff

[harry d brown jr]

Jeff, I think he wants to be able to use his ignite server as a PXE server also. I don't think he's looking for ignite to build his linux boxes.

live free or die
harry d brown jr

[harry d brown jr]

maybe this will help? http://clic.mandrakesoft.com/documentation/pxe/index.html

live free or die
harry d brown jr

[Duncan Edmonstone]

Hi Erik,

I think this is a no - if you have a read of the Ignite/UX manual available here:

http://docs.hp.com/en/B2355-90875/B2355-90875.pdf

You will see on page 47 and 48 the following comments:

------------
This indicates that the response from the server will not contain a class-id. Since bootp does not support the full Intel Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) protocol, it must not send back a class-id in the response.
------------

and

------------
The use of the ncid option is critical because it instructs the DHCP server to exclude the DHCP class-id in the response to the clientâ s boot request. If a DHCP server responds to a PXE boot request with the
DHCP class-id in the response, the booting PXE client attempts to communicate with a PXE proxy server on the same host. Since HP-UX does not supply a PXE proxy server, this causes the boot to fail. The ncid option resolves this issue.
------------

So no PXE proxy server = no full PXE boot - what is in there is only to support Ignite/UX on Itanium systems where EFI uses PXE for the first stage of LAN boots.

HTH

Dunc